A House Without Windows

A Novel

Zeba's life is shattered when her husband is found brutally murdered. Zeba is arrested and jailed. With the fate of Zeba's life in his hands, Afghan-born, American-raised Yusuf discovers that, like Afghanistan itself, his client may not be at all what he imagines. A moving look at the lives of modern Afghan women, this is astonishing, frightening, and triumphant. From the author of the bestselling "The Pearl That Broke Its Shell." Print run 50,000.

A novel about a subject that can only be identified and realized in a Muslim society. The unspeakable misery and horrors that many Muslim women endure under the paternalistic laws and customs of this religion are almost inconceivable to our non-Muslim world. As still occurs, even in North America, women suffer under the men and families who control their lives - honor killings, FGM, forced marriage. In this story, Zeba will pay the ultimate penalty to protect her children and others. Although a work of fiction, it mirrors life for many thousands of Muslim women.

A really good book. Perhaps a little slow in the beginning as all the characters were being developed, but by the middle of the book, I couldn't put it down. A very interesting, and necessary, look at what goes on in Afghanistan.

A gripping & moving mystery about a woman in modern day Afghanistan which helps bring to life (and humanize) the situation of women & the justice system there. It has compelling characters and a intriguing plot although the happy ending seems a bit too simplistic and thus does not quite ring true.
On a side note, I chose this novel after reading In The Land of the Blue Burquas by Kate McCord hoping to balance out that author's depiction of Afghanistan, with her evangelical Christian agenda, with something more imaginative coming from Afghani woman's perspective and it was successful in that regard.

A legal drama with a difference - set in Afghanistan, where the legal system is, like the country itself, torn between tradition and modernity. If you like Jodi Picoult's moral dilemmas and twists you will find this one a gripping read.

A House Without Windows is set in Afghanistan but can occur anywhere in the world. It is well worth reading although intense and speaks to how important gal pals are in our lives, how prevalent harassment is and should not be endured, how mothers will do anything for their children and how male dominated legal systems sometimes get it right.

Hang in there if you are on the waitlist and take all threats of assault seriously. I read this while a dead Dr in Toronto found in a suitcase allegedly murdered by her neurosurgeon husband !

A POWERFUL story about women who have been convicted of crimes find life better in prison than married in Afghanistan. There is no word for rape in the Pashto or Dari. And when a Zeba murders her husband who she finds raping a young girl in their courtyard, she of course, is the villain. What she finds in the House Without Windows is a sisterhood and more freedom than she had at home. A young American lawyer born in Afghanistan is her lawyer. Hashimi has created a story based on women’s lives in Afghanistan. This 400-page book is one you will have trouble putting down. I read it in three days, but my memory of what these women face will remain with me for many years.

I have mixed feelings about this book. One star for research and the other one for a topic. Otherwise, anyone interested in production of a soap opera or a Bollywood movie, should seriously consider this book. All components of those genres are there.